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We intend to monitor closely the work of Ofqual to make certain its independence as a regulator is beyond doubt
Committee chairman Barry Sheerman MP
The government interfered in the work of the exams agency and may have contributed to the delay in publishing SAT results, it has been claimed.
A report from the Commons schools select committee has called for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to ensure that the new regulator, Ofqual, is able to maintain its independence.
The report found that the department involved itself too much in the detail of the testing process, putting pressure on the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA).
Committee chairman Barry Sheerman said there were "significant flaws" in the way the DCSF managed its relationship with the QCA. MPs questioned the role of government observers sitting in on QCA meetings: such appointees should not "exert undue influence over the decision-making of a public body".
The report concluded: "We are concerned that the DCSF appears to be specifying in considerable detail the ways in which it wishes to see its policies executed."
An independent inquiry into the fiasco, led by Lord Sutherland, apportioned blame to the QCA and its contractor ETS Europe, although the government escaped relatively unscathed.
Sheerman said: "We urge the government to do everything possible now to ensure that this summer the same mistakes are not repeated. We intend to monitor closely the work of Ofqual to make certain its independence as a regulator is beyond doubt."
Teachers' unions have backed the report's findings. Nansi Ellis, head of education policy at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said exam bodies "should be given greater independence to make decisions, freed from the DCSF's stranglehold".
A spokesman for the the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA, formerly the QCA) said it "remains committed to working with the DCSF and our various partners to ensure that accurate and timely information is available on each child's achievements".
And schools minister Vernon Coaker noted that the select committee quoted Lord Sutherland's finding that the failings were down to contractor ETS and QCA.
"Major changes have now been made at QCDA - with a new test contractor for the 2009 test cycle, a new chief executive, a new remit in place and, most importantly, 99.9 per cent of test results returned to schools on time this year."
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd